Love A Strange Matter of Joy and Sorrow
by Cheshire Cat Chaos
Summary: A oneshot fiction of a love story, told through the eyes of a servant who witnessed the end, or at least the physical end of it please read and I'm begging here, please no flames!


Joy and Sorrow

My name is Amar, I was born and raised in the fair land of Egypt in the upper kingdom. I was the faithful property of a wealthy family till the day both my kind Master and gentle Mistress passed into the afterlife, upon that time there son who was sorely lacking in character and reason sold the lot of us slaves and used the money to drowned his sorrows, no one really knows what became of him for all that can be told he drank himself right into a stupor and drowned in the majestic Nile. For two years I passed from hand to hand, I will not go into the details of these aforementioned masters for I fear you may lose your most recently eaten meal if I were, since all were cruel heartless men who's anger and stress was released on my person, I being on of the tallest men you will ever find in this flourishing country, but as I was saying I spent a great deal of time standing around awaiting the sale of my self, then living a month or so with my new master till I was sold again, life seemed to be never ending cycle of selling and buying for me, till the day I found my self standing in the market place at the capital of lower kingdom. I stood perfectly calm, and when addressed to I answered in a smooth and mild tone, I have come to believe my general gentle nature is what brought about the next occurrence.

There had been a great deal of men that had surrounded me earlier that day, all poking me, turning me around measuring me and so on, by the time the great sun rode high in the sky the pokers and prodders had ceased for the moment, and that when she appeared. From the moment I saw her I could tell she was frailer then most women around her age, but then she couldn't have been more then in her fifteenth year. She was a tiny, with beautiful long silky hair that fell all the way to her ankles and was the colour of the sky between the stars when the moon has hidden itself from our view, her eyes were the clear azure of the majestic sky, dark full lashes framed these glorious eyes. Even in her simple white dress she was by far the prettiest little thing I had ever seen beneath the godly rays of the great god Ra, and I knew her to be one of his divine descendents. This small creature took notice of my admiration of her a walked over to me, no walk in not the correct description of this heavenly beings pace, it was more of a glide with the slight spring of a woman who had a burning passion for life and lived it as an adventure.

"Hello!" she greeted merrily in a soft voice reminding me of that cool breeze that blows ever so softly on your back and brow after a hard days work under the strong rays of the great sun, and just as that little breeze refreshed the body did the young woman's voice refresh the soul.

"Hello." I greeted smoothly looking down at her, since she no more came up to my waist.

She looked around her large azure eyes blinking innocently at my shackles. "Are you waiting to be sold?" she asked returning her eyes to my face.

"I am Miss." I replied softly.

A soft pity grew in her eyes. "Oh how horrid!" she whispered softly. "Have you any family? A wife? Children maybe?" she inquired.

My master hollered something at the girl to get along but then had a customer and busied himself, and she made no motion or gesture towards moving so I replied. "No wife of children, I had a sister, long ago…" I said sadly, as another yell came from my master for her to depart, I saw in her eyes that she had no intent of moving, in fact I was beginning to wonder if she had heard him, considering the young azure eyed woman continued on with her interview with me. "Were you born in this kingdom?" she asked shuffling her feet as she adjusted her weight to her other leg.

I shook my head. "No I was born and raised in the southern kingdom and lived their till my master and his misses past on, and then I was passed around till I got here." By this time my master was infuriated at the girl's blunt disregard of his orders and stormed over, and proceeded to yell a considerable amount at her.

She stood their blinking innocently for a time before one of the peasants shouted at my master. "How DARE you raise your voice at her!"

My master growled disgruntled-ly stating that she was a mere servant and should learn her place. Murmurs of astonishment rippled through the crowded, and I began to wonder if the innocent young woman really was as low as a slave.

My thought had beem interrupted at the crowd parted and a tall and lofty priest appeared, his blue eyes setting their icy stare on my master as he strode forward, his sapphire coloured cloak rippling in the wind behind him. "What in the name of Ra is going on here? Azure," he said then turned and addressed the young woman, but he never got to finish my master cut in demanding to know if this impertinent wench of a slave was his or not. Upon this remark the priests eyes became icier with furry. "How dare you address her in such manner! Do you not know you stand in the persons of the Queen?" he demanded.  
My master became dumbfounded, a state that seemed to bring a tiny twinkle of laughter to the young Queen's eyes as my master continued bumbling with his deepest apologies, then said he would allow her anything she whished if she would only stay her wrath and not inform her husband.  
Queen Azure looked thoughtful at this statement then replied in a very dignity tone that she would stay her wrath and spare his life in exchange for ownership over me, a statement that both shocked me and lightened my dark spirits. My spirits were lightened even more when my master still stumbling over his words granted her request whole heartedly.

Queen Azure's eyes lightened and she laughed merrily. "Very well, come along…" she paused then laughed again. "I've clean forgotten your name my friend." She said addressing me.

I smiled down at the sprite like queen. "I never told you my lady, but it's Amar if it pleases your highness."

Lady Azure paused. "It does, but please do address me as Azure, it's bothersome to hear all that my lady and your highness junk! It all rather dull!" Azure turned and smiled back at me, I could tell right away that my life was to be changed for ever…

I followed my new mistress Azure around for the remainder of the morning smiling as she gracefully tripped along the dusty paths merrily humming snatches of song that had never touched my ears before. She was very much like a small child, running ahead of us then pausing to look back and wait for us to return, popping into booths poking around with not a great deal of interest then skipping out and walking a few ways before something else caught her eye and she'd dart away again to investigate. I soon discovered that Azure was rather fond of shiny things. The priest, Seth seemed to rather enjoy the queens child like attitude as well, treating her more like a little sister then his queen, chasing her down before she got into trouble or just giving an icy 'Don't touch her' glare at anyone who got close to her. This though was rather necessary since Azure seemed to be a bit clueless at time's spacing out into her own little world, once or twice she had ran into someone because she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

There was once during the trip, where a elderly healing woman approached a sad smile on her lips, Seth greeted her warmly, becoming a little sad himself. "I brought some more herbs for Lady Azure, poor little dear. How is she my lord?" the woman asked handing him a small pouch stuffed full.

Seth sighed and motioned forward to Azure who was merrily gazing at some small shiny item, I heard her gasp a pleased little 'ooooh shiny!' and had to chuckle to myself. "She's well, still frail but we hope that it means she's recovering." Had come Seth's soft reply to the old woman.

The woman smiled. "Good, good! Wish her well for us all please!" She whispered hoarsely slipping away as Azure came bouncing back clutching a small silver pendant, of course it shined brightly in the setting sunlight.

I began to seriously ponder Azures health as we made our way back to the palace, a few moments earlier Azure had gone into a severe coughing fit, to the point where she was gasping for air, everyone reacted quickly Seth catching her before she fell to the dirt road, and a guard appeared shortly after with a beautiful pure white Arabian mare with a bridle on. Seth easily set Azures small frame on to the horse's bare back, and then mounted a white stallion with grey mane and tail. Soon after horses were brought for all, including a stronger looking horse for myself and we all rode gently off to the palace. After a few moments Azure looked a little better and began to breath evenly again a vast improvement over the staggered small heaves of air she had been taking in, she was still flushed and looked very weary, her head slumping slightly to her chest, her eyes half closed, I preyed fervently that she wouldn't fall asleep and fall off the horse.

We reached the palace with out any other incident, Azure seemed to have recovered a little strength, but still seemed weak, until a gentle deep voice broke the silence. "Find another shinys Azure?"

Azures blue eyes lit up and she spun around, a bit of colour returning to her pale cheeks. "ATEM!" she cried happily running over to him and hugging him tightly.

And so for the first time I saw the most powerful pharaoh of all, Atemu, and Azures husband. I was shocked by his youth, he seemed to be about seventeen years of age, with a strong and noble face, but his amethyst eyes were gentle, kind and merciful.

"Atem, meet Amar!" Azure said gesturing lightly towards me, her bright eyes flashing happily.

Atemu smiled. "A pleasure to meet you." He greeted over the top of Azures head, since he was still holding her close to him.

I bowed slightly but saw him wave it off; apparently He shared Azures opinions when it came to respect. I marveled at the uniqueness of this royal family, but it had only begun.

I quickly began to realize the bond between the pharaoh and his wife, in the two weeks I worked there, I discovered that Azure was Atemu's one and only wife, I once took the liberty to ask him about this once, he only laughed and with a reply of, 'why would I need more when I have Azure?' I also learned that Azure and Atemu's relationship was more to them then just Wife and Master, they were constant companion, the best of friend and partners, she meant everything to them and him everything to her. But, sadly, I discovered that Azures condition was much worse then I could have imagined, she was subject to violent fits of coughing, frequent dizziness and was in a great deal of pain a lot of the time, once she has gone into a severe coughing fit cutting off her air for the longest time, making it impossible for her to breath, causing her to pass out, she was bed ridden for a week. Although I must admit after the week she bounced right back into her usual shiny adoring self, I could see the relief in Atemu's eyes.

I had become Azures 'bodyguard' but the job was more of being her companion when Atemu couldn't be with her, which became a greet deal a month after my arrival, the prospect of a treaty with the upper kingdom was eating up his time, which bothered both of them.

"You know I'm dieing right?" Azure asked me one evening as she watched me care for her our horses like I always did after a ride.

The statement came as a shock to me, freezing my blood, I knew she was ill, but I never would have guessed her heath was declining so severely, I turned slowly to face her. "Y-you are?" I stammered praying she was joking.

Azure looked at me very solemnly her eyes grave. "I believe so; my condition is not improving any." She sighed softly.

"But it hasn't gotten worse either." I paused, I had to ask. "Does the pharaoh know?" I asked softly.

Azure looked up at me a sad smile appearing on her lips. "He knows, he knew from the moment he married me I could die at anytime, but it didn't stop him." She whispered pushing a strand of black hair from her face and coughed twice.

I smiled. "I don't believe you'll be leaving anytime soon." I told her crouching in front of her.

She gazed into my eyes for a second then spoke. "The healers say I have a little less then a month." She tested.

I snorted. "They don't know what they're talking about, you'll live longer I know it." I stated, and then grinned.

Azure smiled and laughed one of her beautiful crystal clear laughs and hugged me. "I'd take your word over anyone's Amar!" she giggled.

"I'm honored. Now I don't know about you but I'm starved!" I said standing.

On our quest for food in a garden visible from an open all, where I saw the pharaoh walking with some royals from the upper kingdom, he looked up and saw Azure standing next to me her back to him happily sucking on the juices of a fig I had retrieved from the tree, he turned to the group and gestured for them to wait a moment, and hopped over the wall and walked towards us. I tapped Azure on the shoulder, she looked up at me with an adorable little 'huh' look on her face then saw Atemu walking towards us, her eyes lit up and she ran to him, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"What was that for?" He asked breathlessly after he pulled away blinking shocked at her.

She laid her head against his chest. "Because you took time for me…" she whispered.

Atemu wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on her head. "Oh Azure I've missed you." He sighed contentedly with a touch of regret.

I walked over to the group that where staring awed at the two. "Please excuse the pharaoh? I can show you to your rooms," I said leading them down the hall.

"Who was that girl?" the priest asked.

"That's Azure, the pharaohs' wife." I replied.

"You mean one of his wives don't you?" a princess asked.

I proudly shock my head. "No, he only has her, and he says that's all he'll ever need." I said.

"That's so romantic!" The princess squealed happily.

"She seems a little frail though, is she well." The priest asked.

I paused in front of there room and shock my head sadly. "I'm afraid not."

"How tragic! Will she…?" the princess asked not daring to complete the question.

"Die?" I finished, and then nodded. "Its more then likely that she will."

The princess looked back. "But he still won't marry anyone else…I admire that." She said softly then disappeared into her room followed by her father and servants.

Apparently the loyalty Atemu had for his only wife won the princess over , for she agreed to treaty and just before her departure she walked up to Azure and hugged her then pulled away her hand resting lightly on Azures arms. "I'll be praying for your health everyday Lady Azure!" She smiled.

Azure was confused for a second then smiled. "Thank you very much! May life be good to you!" she said softly. The princess departed happily egger to tell her father about it.

I'm not exactly sure what happened, all I know is a few weeks after I was sitting in the garden reading wile Azure was wandering about it when Atemu walked up with the Princess and The pharaoh of the upper kingdom. "Amar, where's Azure?" he asked looking around.

I smiled. "You know her never can stand still." I laughed. "But she's around her…somewhere."

Atemu couldn't help but grin. "SOMEWHERE being the key word!" he laughed.

"Well, she can't be to hard to find, just follow the happy cries of 'SHINY'" I teased.

"Shinys? Where?" Chirped Azures light voice from a tree, she appeared suddenly from behind it looking around, then she saw Atemu standing there, her eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together in a praying position and gasped her eyes sparkling. "ATEM!" she cheered running up and hugging him around the waist gazing happily up into his eyes. "That's even better then shinys!" She laughed squeezing him a little.

Atemu laughed and hugged her back planting a light kiss on her lips. "OOOOH! This just keeps on getting better!" She squealed delighted.

I could tell that the pharaoh was impressed, and the princess had a smug little 'told you so smirk on her face'.

Atemu turned Azure to face them. "This is Azure." Then noticed Azures blank stare and laughed hugging her from behind. "Azure this is the pharaoh of the upper regions." He laughed.

"OOOOH! Pleased to meet you!" She laughed shaking his hand a light little laugh escaping her lips.

The pharaoh was equally as impressed as his daughter, after two days of watching the couple he was touched as well and said that he wished he had done as Atemu had done.

Soon after that visit the pharaoh and Atemu became close friends and the princess adopted Azure as her little sister, and Atemu and Azure, became known as the happiest couple in all of Egypt. Unfortunately their happiness would not last much longer.

One morning a year after the visits from the rulers of the upper kingdom, Azures condition became horridly worse. Azure had been having bad coughing fits all day morning, but that was nothing unusual, but it took a turn for the worst that afternoon. She had been standing a ways off behind Atemu staring at a tree wile he finished some business when she began to cough again, I had been standing next to Atemu and had not worried about her coughing till I heard her voice weak and quivering call out his name desperately, we both turned. She was kneeling on the ground doubled over one hand on the ground the other over her mouth, as she coughed I saw little drops of crimson blood splatter to the ground between her fingers. Atemu's eyes dilated in horror and he rushed over falling to his knees beside her as she coughed again, more blood splattering into her hand, her face was white and she was in horrific pain, tears rolled down her cheeks from. Atemu pulled her into his arms.

It was the next morning, we all stood in her room, darkened with mourning, Azure's body lay on the bed lifeless; she had died in the night. Atemu was on his knees beside her bed tears falling from his eyes. For as long as I live I will never forget her last moment with him.

Only I had been present, for the moment. He had been sitting on the edge of her bed holding her hands when she turned to him. "Atem…will you….make me…a promise?" she asked between coughs. He nodded. She had smiled weakly. "I'm not….going to be…here much…longer…." She gasped for air. "So…I want you….to ….to promise me….that you'll try to ……try to remain happy after….after I'm gone… Alright?" She asked blood still splattering across her pillow as she turned into it.

"I-I'll try, but it will be hard, you were everything to me…" he chocked out through his tears.

"You…you knew this day would….would come…" her voice mellow and calm.

"I just never expected it to come this soon." He replied.

"These…these things are always….always unexpected." She coughed.

"Azure…" he began, but she shook her head and motioned weakly for him to come closer. He leaned forward, and she kissed him, it was weak, but it spoke the words she wanted to say. "Don't forget me…oh, and….always love the shinys!" she breathed out laughing a little.

"Azure…Azure….AZURE!" He cried desperately.

"Please don't forget…I love you…" she whispered with her had very last breath.

It's been two years to the day since Azure died, and life's never really been the same…but, I will tell you this, Atemu kept his promise, he's still living a trying to be happy, although I have still seen him staring longingly at the sky tears in his eyes. I lay dieing myself as I write this, I see know why Azure could remain so peaceful during her last moment, its indescribable…but now, I must draw my last breath, and go to complete the last task Atemu gave me… "Amar, when you see her…tell Azure I love her, and always will…"

* * *

_Dedicated To:_

_All those suffering from_

_the lose of a loved one,_

_Faith, Died April 11th 2005_

_Emi Lou, Died Spring 2002..._


End file.
